British Dressage have a competition structure that has been designed to give riders more choice than ever. Great in so many ways but if you haven’t done it before it can be a bit mind blowing when you start out! So EquiTeam have put together a handy guide to help get you started.
Membership
First of all you will need to register yourself and your horse either as a paid member or purchase a class ticket to compete.
Full Membership – £95 per year
Horse Registration – £80 per year
Club Membership – £35 per year
Horse Club Registration – £15 per year
Trial Full Membership (Horse & Rider) – £50 for 3 months
Club membership lets you compete at Prelim Bronze qualifier classes, MyQuest and Team Quest including the Championships, Combined Training including the Championships and Music Championships qualifiers. If you qualify for a Championship within the Summer or Winter Area Festivals, Associated Championships or Para you must upgrade to a Full Membership to compete at the festivals or Championships.
Class tickets let you compete in an affiliated British Dressage competition (except music classes) without a paid BD membership or horse registration but to be eligible for Championships and Festivals you will need to register.
Prices are valid as of October 2022
How to Choose a Competition
- Work out what level and section you are eligible to compete in – this is based on both yours and your horse’s previous achievements. If you or your horse haven’t affiliated before you will be eligible to go in at the lower sections. You can check out British Dressage’s eligibility guide here (Go to Page 69)
- The different levels offered by British Dressage are Intro, Prelim, Novice, Elementary, Medium, Advanced Medium, Prix St George, Inter I, Inter II/Grand Prix
- There are three sections within each level, Bronze, Silver and Gold
- Choose which test you want to do … generally the lower the test number the easier the test. You can buy tests sheets online from British Dressage or we would really recommend you try the Dressage TestPro App
The Different Pathways
When you are getting started there are three main championship pathways you can follow and we have outlined them here for you:
1. Quest
Quest is the perfect starting point if you are new to British Dressage. With two championships to aim for it is perfect if you want to have fun and take part in a relaxed competition where team spirit and personal progress are the most important factors.
The two championships are Team Quest where a group of 3-4 riders form a team and compete at Intro, Prelim and Novice levels. The top 15 teams in each region qualify for the Regional final with the winning team going through to the National Championships at Bury Farm in October
My Quest is an individual competition at Intro, Prelim and Novice levels where you can compete to win points. The top 20 riders within your region will qualify to go through to the regional finals. The top four riders at each Regional Final qualify for the prestigious National Championships at Bury Farm in October .
You can view the Quest Leaderboards here
2. Petplan Equine Area Festivals
This series is aimed at grassroots riders and is the perfect target if you are looking to have a taste of the big time at a championship feel event. Split into the two seasons, Winter and Summer, the Petplan Equine Area Festivals offers year-round competition.
How to Qualify
Choose your section, Bronze or Silver, collect three qualifying scores at 63% or above and you can compete at an Area Festival held between January and February (Winters) and July and August (Summers). The top two at each Area Festival qualify for the prestigious Winter and Summer Area Festival Championships held at Hartpury (Winters) and Arena UK (Summers). NB. A minimum score of 63% must be achieved
3. Regional Championships
The Summer and Winter Regionals are the gateway to two major British Dressage Championships. Open to everyone, competitors from the eight UK regions line up to compete in both Silver and Gold sections from Prelim to Intermediate I level
How to Qualify
From Prelim Silver and above you can qualify for a Regional Championships by taking part in regular British Dressage competitions at your local venues. You earn points from Qualifier (more difficult) and Non-Qualifier (slightly easier) tests to get the total number of points needed. The qualifying points required are different for each section and level so make sure you check out what you need for your section. A minimum score must be achieved so whilst your horse will still be awarded points on their record these may not count towards Regional qualification.
Here are some useful links
Qualifying Points for Regionals including minimum scores
Keep an eye out for our Dressage to Music blog where we will explain how to get started, what the judges are looking for and the different competitions and Championships that you can aim for…… coming soon!
